Woodland head coach Mike Tobin came into the year knowing his squad would be tough. But as the Wildcats pushed their record to 18-1 last weekend, even Tobin couldn’t have imagined a start like this.

“I’ve been coaching a long time and never had a team on a run like this,” said the 10th year Woodland head coach, who has 20 years of head coaching experience. “I thought we would be pretty good with the guys we had coming back, and those guys are playing really well so far.”

Woodland’s (18-1 overall, 8-1 in 7AAAA) win over Sequoyah (66-60) last Friday extended school records for most wins to start a season and longest win streak at any point in the school’s history. And with each win the Wildcats inch closer to the school record of 24 wins in a season set in 2006.

As the 2011-2012 ’Cats are supplanting themselves as the best in school history, they also have gained notoriety as one of the top teams in the state. As of last week, Woodland was ranked No. 6 in the GACA Class AAAA coaches’ poll.

Tobin said this year’s success dates to last year’s 16-win team that featured many of the same players that grace this season’s roster. With another year of maturity, he said, his team has learned how to finish off their opponents when they get them on the ropes.

“Most of these guys played a ton last year and that includes four really solid seniors,” said Tobin, referring to Xavier Niblet, Chandler Royal, Deo Adams and Brandon Thompson. “It starts with those guys, the defensive mindset they bring and the unselfish players they have been.”

Defense has been at the forefront of the Wildcats’ success. Through 19 games Woodland is allowing a region best 47.0 points per game — a mark that is also third best in all of Class AAAA.

With a quartet of seniors bringing the defensive intensity, a trio of underclassmen have sparked Woodland’s offense which ranks second in 7AAAA, tallying 64 points per game.

Junior Greg Murphy has led the scoring with 17.3 points per game and sophomore Corey Tobin has chipped in 10.9 of his own. Junior point guard R.J. Williams has facilitated the attack with a team leading 65 assists.

The ’Cats offensive and defensive prowess will be put to the test this weekend when they host county rival Cass Friday and travel to fellow 7AAAA undefeated Chattahoochee Saturday.

“Only time will tell but I have a feeling our best basketball is still ahead of us,” said Tobin.